Rockshox Tuning Guide 2001-2012

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Dual Air

Spring Tuning Guide2001 - 2012

Copyright 2011 SRAMGEN.0000000004160 Rev A


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SAFETY FIRST!We care about YOU. Please, always wear your safety glasses

and protective gloves when servicing RockShox products.

Protect yourself! Wear your safety gear!


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INTRODUCTION

Dual Air technology provides the rider with a tremendous range of setup and tuning possibilities for their

suspension fork, using air positive and air negative springs.

Positive springs support the weight of the bike and the rider.

Negative springs counteracts friction and breakaway.

This guide will show you how to:

Determine the amount of fork travel.

Perform initial spring setup for your approximate rider weight.

Use sag to perform a more detailed spring setup for your exact rider weight.

Use performance tuning to set the fork to be XC (Cross Country) fast and efficient, or All Mountain

smooth and supple.

ITEMS YOU WILL NEED FOR TUNING

Shock pump

Small hex wrench

Clean, lint-free rag

A wall or a strong, trustworthy friend

SHOCK PUMP USE

When the suspension pump is attached to the fork, a small amount of air will move from the fork into thepump. This is why you can pump the fork up to a certain pressure, then remove the pump, re-attach it, and

find a lower reading. This is normal and does not indicate that the fork is leaking air.

In addition, when you remove the pump from the fork, you will hear a hissing sound. This is pressurized air

escaping from the pump, not the fork. This is also normal.

NOTICE

Do not use an air compressor to adjust the air spring pressure in your fork. Air compressors may cause

damage to the fork.

SAG

Sag is the amount the fork compresses when you are sitting on your bike while wearing your normal ridinggear (hydration pack, helmet, clothing, etc.). It is important to tune the sag measurement of your fork

because proper sag enhances the ability of the front wheel to follow the changing contours of the terrainas you ride.

LOCKOUT

If the fork is equipped with a lockout, turn the lockout,

located at the top of the drive side fork leg, to theUnlocked position.


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DETERMINE FORK TRAVEL

Some RockShox forks have travel gradients printed

on the upper tubes of the fork. If your fork has travelgradients, compare the top of the dust wiper to the

travel gradients to determine the amount of travel thefork has, then move on to the next section, Initial Setup.

If your fork does not have travel gradients, use thefollowing steps to determine how much travel your fork

has.

1Remove the caps from the air valves located at thetop and bottom of the non-drive side fork leg.

2While holding a rag over the front brake rotor (ifapplicable), use a small hex wrench to depress the

Schrader valve at the bottom of the fork leg to

release all of the pressure from the negative spring.


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3Use the small hex wrench to depress the Schradervalve at the top of the fork leg to release all of the

air pressure from the positive air spring.

4Some RockShox forks are equipped with a sag

indicator o-ring. If your fork does not have an o-ring,fasten a zip tie around one of the upper tubes.Tighten the zip tie so that it stays in place but can

slide along the upper tube easily. Slide the o-ring orzip tie down against the wiper seal.

You will use this zip tie later when setting sag.


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5Compress the fork until it bottoms out.

Be careful when compressing the fork; a fork

without air pressure will compress very easily.

6Thread a shock pump onto the air valve at the top ofthe non-driveside fork leg. Pressurize the fork to

20 psi. This is just enough pressure extend the forkto its full length).

7Measure the distance from the top of the dust wiper

to the bottom of the o-ring or zip tie. Add 5-15 mmto this measurement. This is your approximate forktravel.

Once youve determined the fork travel, cut the zip

tie and remove it from the fork


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QUICK SETUP

Some RockShox forks have an air pressure chart printed on the back of the non-driveside fork leg, or in

the fork User Manual. If this information is not available, skip to the next section, Setup Using Sag. Thefollowing steps will show you how to perform a quick spring setup using the air pressure chart.

1Remove the caps from the air valves located at the

top and bottom of the non-drive side fork leg.

2While holding a rag over the front brake rotor (ifapplicable), use a small hex wrench to depress the

Schrader valve at the bottom of the fork leg torelease all of the air pressure from the negative

spring.

Holding a rag over the rotor will prevent any fluid

that escapes from the fork leg from contaminating

the rotor.

3

Thread a shock pump onto the air valve at the top of

the non-drive side fork leg. Use the air pressure chartto determine the appropriate positive pressure foryour weight (including riding gear). Use the pump to

adjust the positive spring to this pressure.


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4Once you have adjusted the positive spring pressure,remove the pump from the fork, then thread it onto

the negative spring air valve, located at the bottomof the fork leg. Inflate the negative spring to the

same pressure as the positive spring. Remove thepump from the negative spring air valve.

At this point, the fork is set up to your rider weightrange. You can reinstall the air valve caps and go for

a ride. However, if you want to dial the fork in to yourexact rider weight, continue on to the next section,

Setup Using Sag.


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SETUP USING SAG

The following steps will show you how to set up the fork to your rider weight using sag.

1Remove the caps from the air valves located at the

top and bottom of the non-drive side fork leg.

2If the fork has an external travel adjust feature, adjust

the fork to its maximum travel setting.

3Put on all of your normal riding gear. Sit on the bikeand brace yourself upright, or have a friend securely

hold the bike upright while you sit on it.


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4Compress the fork a couple of times, then gently sitdown on the saddle.

5While remaining seated, slide the indicator o-ring orzip tie down against the wiper seal. Avoid

compressing the suspension after the o-ring/zip tieis in place.


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6Carefully step off the bike.

If your fork has sag gradients, compare the locationof the sag indicator o-ring or zip tie against the sag

gradients. This is your sag.

If the fork does not have sag gradients, measure the

distance from the top of the wiper seal to the sago-ring or zip tie. Use this measurement and the travel

of the fork to calculate sag. The ideal amount of sag

is between 10-40% of the travel of the fork.

Sag percentage

10% 20% 30% 40%

F

orktravel(mm)

60 6 12 18 24

80 8 16 24 32

100 10 20 30 40

120 12 24 36 48

140 14 28 42 56

160 16 32 48 64170 17 34 51 68

7If the fork does not sag the desired amount, you willneed to adjust the air pressure settings.

To increase the amount of sag:1. Release 5-10 psi from the negative spring

2. Release 5-10 psi from the positive spring3. Recheck sag

To decrease the amount of sag:1. Add 5-10 psi to the positive spring

2. Add 5-10 psi to the negative spring3. Recheck sag

Repeat this process until the desired sag is achieved, then record the air pressure settings for future

reference.

At this point, the fork is set up for your rider weight. You can reinstall the air valve caps and go for a

ride. However, if you want to tune your fork for specific performance characteristics, continue on to thenext section, Performance Tuning.


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PERFORMANCE TUNING

Now that youve adjusted the positive and negative air springs in your fork to achieve proper sag for your

weight, you can fine tune the springs for specific performance characteristics.

For a more supple ride with better small bump absorption:

Pressurize the negative spring 5 to 15 psi more than the positive. Reference the positive air pressure

setting you recorded during sag setup.

Do not reference the pressure indicated on the pump after reattaching it to the fork, as this pressure will

be lower than the recorded pressure.

Do not pressurize the negative spring more than 15 psi higher than the positive spring, as this will

increase sag beyond the recommended amount.

For a firmer, more efficient ride:

Pressurize the negative spring 5 to 15 psi less than the positive. Reference the positive air pressure setting

you recorded during sag setup.

Do not reference the pressure indicated on the pump after reattaching it to the fork, as this pressure will

be lower than the recorded pressure.

Once you have achieved desired sag and spring performance, record your settings, reinstall the air valve

caps, and go for a ride!

CONCLUSION

We would like to thank you again for choosing RockShox for your bicycle suspension. RockShox iscommitted to the quality of your ride experience. We hope that this tuning guide has helped you

explore the full tuning capability of your suspension fork and opened your world to greater performancepossibilities.

Please check back to www.rockshox.com frequently for more quick tips, tuning, and service information.


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Documents

Rockshox Tuning Guide 2001-2012